Measuring service quality: a study at Immigration Department, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah / Salina Ahad

The aim of this research is to measure service quality of Immigration Department and determine the relationship between the Immigration Department service quality and customer satisfaction. The study was conducted at Immigration Department in Kota Kinabalu and focus particularly in the areas of service rendered by this department. A total of 150 questionnaires were distributed to customers of this department. They were asked to provide feedback regarding the quality of service this department provided. However, from the 150 questionnaires distributed, only 111 were returned. Cronbach's Alpha test was carried out to test the reliability of each construct before Paired /-test test was carried to compare the means of expectations and perceptions of SERVQUAL dimensions to see whether or not there is significance difference between customer expectation and customer perception. Pearson Correlation was used to evaluate the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. One Way Anova test was then used to find out whether there are differences in the demographic aspects impact on customer satisfaction. Finally, Independent-Samples T-test was used to compare the means between Malaysian and Non-Malaysian groups to determine whether there is a difference in overall satisfaction level. The result demonstrated that most of the respondents were unsatisfied with the quality service provided by the Immigration Department in Kota Kinabalu. There are differences in customer expectation and customer perception on four service quality dimensions which were tangibility, responsiveness, assurance and empathy except reliability dimension. The results indicate that the service quality of the Immigration Department in Kota Kinabalu has not met customer expectations. Several recommendations were proposed including sending employee for training, eliminate bureaucracy, improve facilities (counters, seats, and waiting area), and developing more computerised or online applications.